Category Archives: Medical & Dental

After announcing late last year that they would be able to 3D print a functional thyroid to be implanted in humans by the end of 2015, Skolkovo-based bioprinting start-up 3D Bioprinting Solutions (3D Bio) announced they have, in fact, created the functional bioficial gland; although, so far, the organ has only been deemed suitable for implantation in mice and not humans, quite yet.
3D Bioprinting Solutions built its own internally developed 3D bioprinter in early 2014, which gives the team the ability to create 3D tissue constructs made up of “cellular spheroids and bioinks for the cellular matrix” by implementing several different bioprinting processes.…Continue Reading →

If you want to know about 3D printing technologies and their applications, who better to get insights from than Europe’s largest 3D printing service? Sponsored by leading 3D printing and 3D scanning companies such as EOS, Stratasys, GOM, Concept Laser, Prodways, and even HP and RICOH, the Materialise World Conference 2015 is shaping up as the place to be in 3D printing next April 23rd and 24th.
This year’s event will be the largest ever, with a line up of some 120 speakers (and a total of about 850 planned attendees) focusing mainly on Mimics software innovation, additive manufacturing applications, and future healthcare and design.…Continue Reading →

Some time ago I wrote an article about a venture called 3D Life Prints, based in Nairobi, Kenya. I now had the chance to speak directly with the organization’s founder, Paul Fotheringham. The former investment banker decided to make a radical change and use his contacts and international experience to make a significant difference in the lives of people. Fotheringham set out on using 3D printing to locally manufacture some of the items that are needed most: in many cases, that means prosthetics.…Continue Reading →

Recently, we have reported many advancements around 3D printing in medical care for humans; however, humans are not the only ones that can directly benefit by the advancement of 3D printing technology. 3D Systems has worked together with the Rita Leibinger Medical veterinary experts to develop a rapid and efficient remedy to cruciate ligament damage in canines, resulting in the patent-pending, 3D printed TTA (Tibial Tuberosity Advancement) RAPID implant.
Cruciate ligament damage causes older dogs to have difficulties in walking, thus making it impossible – or extremely difficult and painful – for them to play around or take a stroll with their human companions. …Continue Reading →

3D printing has already ushered in a new era of low-cost prosthetics. In addition to yielding custom limbs that are orders of magnitude less expensive than their traditionally manufactured counterparts, 3D printing is giving prostheses wearers the ability to express their identities like never before (see yesterday’s post on Alex Pring’s Iron Man-themed arm). If there’s one person who knows how to turn their limb into a canvas, it’s YouTube star and actor Grace Mandeville, who has previously sported a feather and bead-adorned claw made via Sophie de Oliveira Barata’s Alternative Limb project. …Continue Reading →

At the end of last year, we reported on a unique spin-off of E-nable’s 3D printed prosthetics project called Limbitless Solutions. Headed up by E-nable volunteer and University of Central Florida PhD candidate Albert Manero, the non-profit expands upon the 3D printed prosthetic model with bionic components, allowing individuals without limbs to move 3D printed hands and fingers through myoelectric muscle sensors.
The very first person to be helped by Limbitless was a seven-year-old boy named Alex Pring, born with a partially developed right arm. …Continue Reading →

3D printing has been aiding doctors prepare for numerous surgeries by providing highly-detailed, patient specific models to better inform surgeons before entering the operating room. As accurate as these models have been, some even including color-coded regions to illustrate various organs or problem areas, they have yet to fully replicate the texture of real human tissues. Japanese 3D printing firm Fasotec, previously covered on 3DPI and subsequently purchased by Stratasys, is changing that by creating highly realistic surgical models with 3D printing.…Continue Reading →

Conventional optics have their limits when it comes to seeing objects that are smaller than the wavelengths of visible light. The science of imaging cells generally requires chemical processing in order to make them visible under a microscope, and this treatment often kills the cells while preserving them. A company called NanoLive has developed what they call the “3D Cell Explorer”. They claim to have invented the first microscope that gives users the opportunity to see inside living cells as they are, without preparation. …Continue Reading →

While the news is unconfirmed and the sources for the information have not been revealed, Shiegeru Sato’s Bloomberg Business report of significant new investments from Japanese companies in Cyfuse, a local 3D bioprinter manufacturer, makes perfect sense from both a business and a biotechnological innovation standpoint.
According to Sato’s report, Cyfuse – which produces the Regenova 3D Bioprinter – agreed to sell a stake in the company to 12 domestic investors, raising a total of ¥1.4 billion (roughly $12 million), which will be used to boost sales force and fund new clinical trials of the device, as the company plans to expand its operations overseas, in the US and China.…Continue Reading →

Over the past year we have seen dozens of amazing new projects leveraging 3D printing to make people’s lives better, especially the lives of those who suffer from very specific disabilities, which require customized treatments, and supports. Cerebral Palsy, a group of permanent movement disorders that appear in early childhood, is one of these conditions. It affected little Diamo and was the reason why his parents, Samiya and Naveed Parvez, set out to develop and launch the Andiamo Project to produce low-cost custom supports.…Continue Reading →

Since its conception, the 3D printing of pharmaceuticals has been an exciting, if confusing, idea, yet to fully be put into practice. Lee Cronin, of the University of Glasgow, discussed his vision of a future in which medicines, tailored to individual patients in terms of dose and chemical make-up, would be 3D printed at a local pharmacy or even at home. Though there has been research into the ability to 3D print medicines or biodegradable 3D printed medical implants, Aprecia Pharmaceuticals has announced that, in leasing a Forest Labs facility in Ohio, the company plans to produce a 3D printable, fast dissolving drug formula.…Continue Reading →

We’ve covered many stories in which 3D printing has aided in the planning of surgeries, with patient-specific, 3D printed models cutting surgery time drastically by providing doctors with a detailed visual representation of the areas in which they are about to operate. Today, however, we report on the first time that the practice has been implemented in the risky procedure of separating conjoined twins.
According to the University of Maryland, the survival rates of conjoined twins are often low, between 5 and 25%, and the surgery to separate them can yield difficult challenges, particularly in the case of those that share vital organs, with one twin surviving 75% of the time. …Continue Reading →

Kaiba Gionfriddo was born prematurely in 2011. After 8 months, his lung development caused concerns, although he was sent home with his parents as his breathing was normal. Six weeks later, Kaiba stopped breathing and turned blue. He was diagnosed with tracheobronchomalacia, a long Latin word that means his that windpipe was so weak that it collapsed. He had a tracheostomy and was put on a ventilator – the conventional treatment. Still, Kaiba would stop breathing almost daily. His heart would stop, too.…Continue Reading →

With the fields of medicine and dentistry benefiting greatly from the ability of 3D printing to produce custom, intricate, and castable objects, both 3D Systems and Stratasys have been pushing their printer portfolio to include increasingly improved machines for these industries. While Stratasys most recently announced an upgrade to its Eden line of 3D printers for dentistry, today at LMT LAB DAY Chicago 2015, 3DS has unveiled the ProJet 3510 DPPro all-in-one medical 3D printer.
The ProJet 3510 DPPro is designed to create dental wax-ups, drill guides for implants, orthodontic patterns, and crown and bridge molds. …Continue Reading →

Students at Brenham High School have, literally, given a hand to a two-year-old boy named Kaedon, The San Francisco Globe reports. Kaedon suffers from amniotic band syndrome, a syndrome caused by a fetus becoming entangled in fibrous string-like amniotic bands in the womb. As a result of this syndrome, Kaedon was born with his right hand not fully formed. When Kaedon’s mother, Jeannette Olson, heard that the local high school had a 3D printer, she decided to see if they could help her child.…Continue Reading →

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a study by Michigan Technological University’s Professor Joshua Pearce in which he calculated some hard numbers about the potential savings of adopting open source technologies in a scientific lab. His findings indicated several millions of dollars in savings for companies and universities that used RepRap technology for making basic medical research products. It led me to wonder, can the open source model really take scientific labs by storm?
What I wanted to understand is whether or not 3D printed models can really compete with big pharma’s multi-million dollar investments in scientific studies and tests.…Continue Reading →

Mina Khan was born with a broken heart. Specifically, she had a large hole between her ventricles. This defect prevented the normal circulation of blood through her heart chambers and lungs, leaving the little girl constantly exhausted. Mina could not put on weight, and her hair would not grow. She needed a miracle, and the challenge to save her life was accepted by an innovative team of surgeons at St. Thomas Hospital in London, and a 3D printer.
The operating team, led by Professor David Anderson, used both MRI and CT scans to develop a 3D model of Mina’s tiny heart.…Continue Reading →

Let it be known that a physical disability has never prevented the determined musician from pursuing their passion. My preferred example is history’s greatest guitarist, Django Reinhardt, who, after a fire paralyzed the third and fourth fingers on his left hand, used only his index and middle fingers to be one of the fastest, yet most elegant jazz guitarist the world has ever known.
Translated into the modern era, Django’s story is replayed by Diego Corredor, who supplanted a missing limb with a 3D printed prosthesis designed and manufactured by the Columbian 3D printing bureau, 3Dglück.…Continue Reading →

Ever since the beginning of the “robotic age”, the idea of a fully functional, mechatronic prosthetic hand has seemed within reach and, yet, has been impossible to achieve. So close and yet so far away. Since 3D printing and basic electronic components have become more affordable, all of robotics has been taking giant leaps forward through open source, collective research.
Looking at the latest 3D printed, robotic hand from Open Bionics, I get the impression that it is now just a matter of a few years before everyone who needs one will be able to afford a robotic prosthesis that can offer seamless interaction with the surrounding environment.…Continue Reading →

From February 25-27th, REAL 2015 is bringing 3D scanning, 3D design software, augmented reality and 3D printing together under one roof. Literally, because it takes place at The Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. And figuratively, as part of a conceptual metaphor for a new singular process called Reality Computing. So, before I describe the event, what is Reality Computing?
Well, I first heard about this concept from an interesting interview with Rick Rundell, Senior Director & Technology and Innovation Strategist at Autodesk. …Continue Reading →

The printing of prostheses and orthopedic products is definitely one of the most promising markets in the world of 3D printing. As shown by 3DPI’s increased recent coverage on initiatives by Gyrobot, e-NABLE, Nicolas Huchet and Bionico (and many more) it continues to pick up steam. Even, or actually, especially at a desktop 3D printing level. It seems that many professional prostheses manufacturers, who were previously using traditional methods, may now be switching to 3D printers. Marco Avaro, a biomedical engineering in the Friuli region of Italy, is the latest to do so, by acquiring a €2,300 DeltaWASP 2040 system and cutting prostheses production times from 8 to 2 hours.…Continue Reading →

Manufacturer of custom, 3D printed insoles, SOLS Systems is in the process of becoming a thread in the fabric of mainstream medical device. Last year, SOLS custom insoles were made available to qualified podiatrists who applied to be a part of the SOLS network. The orthotics company has now announced a partnership that will bring their products to an even greater number of patients plagued with foot pain and other issues. Teaming with web-based electronic medical record (EMR) company WebPT, SOLS will now be introduced to more than 43,000 rehab therapy professionals in the WebPT rehab network.…Continue Reading →

Professor Joshua M. Pearce of Michigan Technological University in Houghton, MI, has sustainability technology and open source 3D printing as two of his main areas of interest. His focus on free and open source hardware (FOSH) is primarily related to reducing costs on scientific research applications to promote greater accessibility. To support his theories, he has recently published a detailed analysis of how to quantify the added value that open source hardware can create. Basing his calculations on a single open source syringe pump (OSSP), Prof.…Continue Reading →

e-NABLE is no stranger when it comes to making the news. They’ve been helping people around the world by providing designs for 3D printed prosthetic hands, and connecting those in need with Makers, for the past couple years. Recently, e-NABLE volunteer Dante Vartosis, inspired by Genesis Foundation grants, decided to gauge the public interest in starting a humanitarian venture for providing prosthetics to those in need located around the world.
Members of the community were quick to express interest, and soon they all met with Dr.…Continue Reading →

UK-based Gyrobot Limited is a mechanical design consulting company with its own 3D printing facility, with which they focus on using FDM to 3D print concept models, end-use parts, functional prototypes, and manufacturing tools. After previously publishing designs for their flexible Flexy Hand 2 and Flexy Finger prosthetics on Thingiverse, Gyrobot has taken to the printables site again with their new “Flexy-Hand 2 Filaflex Remix”, a custom prosthesis for one of their customers.
To create the hand, Gyrobot first scanned the recipient’s limb and printed it with an internal bone-like structure and wrist articulation capability, using variable density “Modifier Meshes” in Slic3r.…Continue Reading →

We may await the day that 3D bioprinting is ubiquitous practice, but MakerBot and The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have proven that we may not have to wait that long. Using ordinary MakerBot PLA filament, the Feinstein researchers were able to create custom scaffolding on which living cells were cultured for a tracheal implant. The results of the research were presented at the the 51st Annual Meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons in San Diego by Feinstein investigator Todd Goldstein.…Continue Reading →

This week, 3DPI’s Andrew Wheeler covered Boston Children’s Hospitals efforts to develop a fully-fledged 3D printing center to aid in surgery prep and other medical treatments. Discussing the brain surgery of 16-year-old Myalynn Ranson, Andrew explains that the hospital is spending about $1.2 million on their 3D printing division, installing machines, training staff, and conducting studies to prove the efficacy of 3D printing in medicine. It seems as though the money is going to a good place, as the hospital has reported yet another story about improving a young patient’s life with 3D printing.…Continue Reading →

As space agencies around the globe continue to pursue a wide range of activities, manned missions are few and far between. Even President Obama mentioned going to Mars in his State Of the Onion speech, and everyone knows Elon Musk is mentally already there. This is the one clear destination that is on the radar and agenda for space lovers all over the Earth. Objective: a manned mission to Mars.
On our planet, all the planning is happening. One group calling themselves Mars Without Borders (MWOB), founded by Dr.…Continue Reading →

The 3D printing industry is full of brilliant people who have used their minds to change the world in some pretty spectacular ways. But, even among all of them, there aren’t many out there like Easton LaChappelle. At the tender age of 14 he used legos, fishing wire, and scavenged electronic parts to create a working robotic hand. He even created an interface that allowed him to control the device with his mind. But it wasn’t until he met a 7-year-old girl with an $80,000 prosthetic arm, that she’d eventually outgrow, that Easton knew what he wanted to do with his robotic creation.…Continue Reading →

Until now, several different groups of researchers have developed small masses of tissue as implants, but now they are trying to create a clear path to their actual use. In Japan, scientists have made progress towards using a 3D printer to fabricate custom-made skin, bones, and joints.
“A next generation bio 3D printer” is in the works, according to Tsuyoshi Takato, a professor at the University of Tokyo Hospital. The printer is being designed to print thin layers of biomaterials to form custom-made parts for various uses.…Continue Reading →

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3D Printing Industry (3DPI) is a global media company providing a dedicated resource for anyone interested in 3D printing — a technology field that is growing quickly in relevance and application across industrial and consumer sectors. The mission of 3DPI is to report on and create original content about the latest developments in 3D printing to keep our large and growing audience abreast of technology breakthroughs, the latest applications and the opinions of industry insiders.

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